.s. and the very irony that we are confronted with at sandy hook is that the firearm industry's trade association, their headquarters are located just across the highway from the sandy hook elementary school, and while it is important, i also have a bill that i want to acknowledge, h.r. 6680, the firearm licensing and record of sale act of 2012, a legislation aimed at establishing a nationwide system for prohibiting unlicensed gun ownership and granting the u.s. attorney general broader authority over the program. as sad and inexplicable as the sandy hook incident is for all of us, we must be cognizant of the fact that gun violence has been terrorizing neighborhoods in chicago, detroit, houston, washington, d.c. for decades now. one of my local newspapers, the "chicago tribune," reports that at the end of the march murders in my city had spiked to almost 60%. and as of june, homicides in chicago were up almost 20% over last year. 488 murders to date. ranging from 18 months to 19 years, these are americans also shot down like dogs in the street. as i recall and exspeerns -- experience you can't es
